MōVI Update: Availability, Pre-ordering, Awards, and Contest Winners

It has been an exciting couple of weeks for the team at Freefly with the unveiling of their gyro-stabilizer MōVI, overwhelming response to Laforet's Vimeo gallery showcasing the stabilizer, and award wins at NAB this past week. It looks like things are only getting better -- not just for Freefly, but for all of you who want to get your hands on your very own MōVI. It's availability, pre-ordering details, product information, and updates on Freefly and Vincent Laforet's Twitter contest have been released.

For those of you who haven't heard about the MōVI yet, or just want a refresher on what this thing is capable of, check out this behind-the-scenes video. Be sure to jump down to get all the new information and updates concerning the MōVI.

Right now they have announced that the first units will start to ship in the third quarter of this year (July-September range). Here's what Vincent Laforet had to say on his website about pre-ordering:

If you were to order a MōVI today you should expect to receive yours within a reasonable period of time after the first ones ship – especially compared to general expectations of what other companies have done. (That’s as non-specific a way for me to say: put your name in line now, you can always change your mind and get your deposit back, once you do so you’ll have to wait what I would call an "industry standard" waiting period for any popular product – but if you choose to wait to put your order in you’ll obviously have to wait quite a bit longer as demand is quite strong and growing.)

MōVI: By the Numbers

Both units are selling for $14,995 and come with a remote control and batteries. The MōVI M10 supports the weight of a system that is 10 lbs, which is roughly equal to a RED Epic with Cine Primes and Follow Focus + wireless transmitters. That weight range encompasses al Canon and other brand HDSLRs with regular lenses and cine lenses. The rig itself weighs 3.5 lbs and can travel with you in the overhead compartment of an airline.

A MōVI M5 (which supports up to 5 lbs) and a MōVI M20 will be announced at a later date, but are aimed at heavier camera systems such as the Arri Alexa or an Epic Camera with a zoom lens.

Awards

This year's NAB showcased so many amazing products, and MōVI was one of them. It received 3 significant awards: the prestigious Digital Video Black Diamond Award, the Mario Award, and the InBroadcast Editor's Award. Jon Fauer of Film and Digital Times praised the MōVI saying, "If FDTimes gave awards, MōVI would probably win most innovative new product of the show."

MōVI M10 Giveaway

Hopefully you read our article about the MōVI M10 Giveaway and got on Twitter and followed @vincentlaforet and @freeflycinema at your chance to win a free MōVI M10. If you didn't, then you're probably not the first winner. The first winner was selected at the conclusion of NAB using a random number generator app based on the total number of followers.

If you didn't win this time around, don't worry. There is still a second chance to win the second MōVI M10. So, go follow @vincentlaforet and @freeflycinema on Twitter and -- wait. The winner will be picked within a month from now!

actually, let me rephrase...this thing does have it's place. IMO it's awesome on the bottom of an RC heli and with a low budget, or run-and-gun DSLR shoot. But I cant imagine putting my epic on this thing and being able to shoot anything above 3 feet for very long. this is why I assume the one at NAB with the Epic on it stayed on teh shelf while everyone played with a bare bones 5d. when I tilted it past 30 degrees, the guy from freefly said "whoh, whoh!!!" and grabbed it back...this is fine, and I may not have messed it up if I kept going, but his response made me feel like this thing is fragile...i hate fragile. in short, it will sell bigtime even at 15k for the indi dslr filmmaker...but no way you're using this with a bigger rig unless you have an easyrig or something to hang it from...in which case you are basically wearing an awkward steadicam.

Everyone should read this guys post, the only person I have heard from thus far who has actually used it. Thanks for the information. Noted. It's extremely difficult to pass judgement on these things from videos and marketing when these outlet's soul purposes is to SELL.

Regarding any solution that relies, even partially on gravity, it will lose stability in some situations. One engineer told me, "Any stabilized system that relies on gravity to stay vertical, including steadicams and gyro-stabilized gimbals, do not stay vertical in moving vehicles because side accelerations can tip and swing the unit dramatically." I'm surprised that no one has mentioned other solutions, like the 3-axis X-Series gyros by Kenyon Labs. The full KS-4X4 kit...gyros and power supply...only costs $3,500. True, you still need to attach it to a rig, but heck, the full solution should be much cheaper than the MOVI.

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